After several relatively short intervals, decided that I'd better get out earlier than I might have a day or so ago. Turned out that I didn't need to, but Grand still had an interval of a little over 8 hours, which for most of this trip would be considered a short.
I arrived to find that Sawmill had finally erupted, as its formations were wet. After dumping my pack and heading back, I found Uncertain in eruption, which confirmed that the group was in a Deep Drain mode.
West Triplet started about the time Grand had what could have been a Vent type delay. Which meant that there was a good chance that it could erupt in two Turban intervals, about the time West Triplet would end. Which is what happened. By then the moon had risen, and a breeze had come up,so the start of the one-burst eruption was nicely backlit. West Triplet quit a few minutes into the eruption, too, with no Rift accompaniment.
During the wait I got to hear lots of noise coming from drunken louts over in the Gov't Area, They were so loud, along with musical noise, that they sometimes made it difficult to hear the thermal features. I could even hear them during Grand's eruption. At least they kept the stupidity out of the basin.
Came back out with the possibility of another shorter interval only to find Rift early in an eruption. So we got the one-burst eruption about four hours later than I'd liked. But during the wait got to see a couple of distant Churn eruptions, and another eruption of Bulger's Hole.
The Hole now slurps when it drains after a fill, even if it doesn't erupt. The eruptions themselves seem to be getting stronger and throwing around a lot more rocks, now that they don't have to hit up against the bridge. And the increased power and water means more gravel and debris are being washed in from along the edge. Since they are obviously related, and since there's no discharge of the milky white water from the Hole, surprised that Bulger shows no sign of any water discoloration. Perhaps it's there but we just can't see it.
There were a couple of minor Fan & Mortar events during the day, but nothing much came of them. After the second, caught Beehive on the way back from the railing above Tilt.
Went to the evening Grand early, as I didn't quite trust it to not have a short interval following the long one this morning. Was quite windy, making what should have been a warm wait distinctly chilly. Saw a series of uninspiring Turban eruptions on longer (21m) intervals until West Triplet. For two more Turbans, nothing much to get excited about. Then, right after West Triplet ended, we got an early fill that stayed up and kept building to heavy waves flooding out in all directions. But no Vent overflow as Grand started yet another one-burst eruption. Twice, around the seven and the nine minute marks, Grand slowed enough to make it seem like it might stop, but then after some "Big Tardy", it surged as if a new burst had started. At least with the low sun, and the wind pushing the steam up the hillside, was pretty. The start of Vent, for example, was not wrapped in steam as it usually is, which made it even more impressive.
It appears that "food storage" isn't taken seriously anymore. These people have been here most of the week and I see all this stuff strewn about every morning.